Rebel of Bodie

THE DERBY MAN #8

By Gary McCarthy

Bantam, June 1982

When Rebel Morgan was the law, Bodie, California had been a town of hope and promise. Bodie was “the Wildest Town in the West” now, and ex-sheriff Rebel was the whiskey-soaked town joke. A broken and bitter man since his wife’s brutal murder, Rebel had been unwilling to stem the rising bloody tide of violence and corruption that now threatened to destroy Bodie. But Darby Buckingham hits Bodie with both fists swinging, fiercely determined to whip Rebel back up to his former strength and to lend his muscle to wipe out the town’s savage criminals. Every low-life in Bodie rises to Darby’s challenge, unleashing a relentless onslaught of terror and killing. But the hard-hitting, quick-witted Derby Man would give Bodie the roughest judgement day the West had ever seen.

Gary McCarthy’s Derby Man has got to be one of the most unusual western heroes ever. He’s a large ex-circus strongman and prize-fighter who is now a dime novel author roaming the west searching out real people to write about in his books and he feels Rebel Morgan could be the star of his next pulp.

Darby’s quest for the truth about Rebel’s fall from grace will unearth some heart-breaking truths, truths that have been suspected but purposely ignored. As friendships are tested the death toll rises and Buckingham soon has a number of people looking to bury him as fast as possible.

McCarthy has brought together a great cast of characters for this tale, both male and female, good and bad. The story is told from various people’s viewpoints and later on its mainly from characters other than Buckingham. Connor O’Grady, who was introduced in the previous book, North Chase, has a large part to play in this tale, and as well as getting in some deadly situations that seem to offer no avenue of escape, he provides most of the more light-hearted moments in the story too.

For me, this is another great entry into a series that offers a western hero who is a little bit different from the norm. 

Long out of print, this series is now available as ebooks.